What does it mean to glorify God? Is it a learned behavior? A rote set of spiritual exercises? Do we summon up more spiritual unction for our worship when we are able to "let go of our fears and barriers" and sing more exuberantly in a given church or retreat service?
Is it a dry theology we need to learn to endorse? An ever deepening plummet into the arms of Holiness by which we learn, by sheer dint of asceticism and neo-gnosticism, to forgo all worldly associations- from sports to malls to antique shops to jazz music- so that we can be devoted to pure spiritual milk..and the washing of the water of the Word of Truth?
Does the crucified life carry with it a sort of baseline rudiment whereby, as we practice the presence of God, we mainly do so during and amidst commonplace activities like folding laundry and doing dishes? What about becoming a prayer warrior: does the "called out life" demand a reckless foray into intercessory prayer, in which our primary (indeed our sole) lay calling is to lift up every infirmity, every salvation request, every missions trip, every small-group study, ad infinitum..?
How about the matter of our public reputation? Does the called-out life mandate a sort of new-fangled neurosis which dictates how much time we broker with new faces, new encounters in a cafe, new embarrassments within various social environs, et al..? Do we need, as presumed ambassadors of the Galatians 1 Gospel, to watch every thought, motive, deed, action, gesture, gaze and instinct in all that we do, until we face God sitting on His Bema Seat to reward us with our heavenly treasure? What, by the way, is heavenly treasure?
If the meek shall inherit the earth, but a man who gains the whole world forfeits his soul, then what kind of paradox does one need to endorse to gain the earth, reject the world, and sew up treasures in heaven, where thief and moth do not destroy? If the whole Earth is the Lord's, and all of creation proclaimeth His glory, then why is the whole world also in the lap of the evil one?
What essentials of the historic Christian faith do we need to endorse in order that our glorification of God can be just and complete? And how much of a tightrope does one need to walk if a teacher of the Word of Truth is held to much stricter standards then a weak-willed, garden variety Trinitarian?
I love asking questions like this! I could have provided my own, reasonably thorough (if not meticulous) answers to each section of inquiry; but I think the questions themselves tend to imply some of the nuances which illuminate a proper skein of responses..
Little children: keep yourself from idols....
